George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, published at the end of World War II, is a cautionary tale of the dangers of totalitarianism, and by extension, Communism’s form of totalitarianism. It has been called a fairy tale for adults, and lives up to the name.

Animal Farm begins with the animals gathering together to listen to the vision and prophecies of Major, an old boar. He foretells of a time when human beings will not be present on the earth, and the animals will live in freedom and will control their own destiny. After he dies, the pigs –the cleverest animals on Manor Farm – codify his words into a system of thought called Animalism.

The pigs help spearhead a rebellion which takes over the farm, and help defend it against attempts to take it back. The other animals rally around the pigs as the pigs set out the Seven Commandments, forbidding human behavior and encouraging the animals never to harm themselves or one another. Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer, the brightest of the pigs, assume leadership roles and set about tasks, including educating the young, bettering production, and improving the living conditions of the animals.

But Napoleon seizes power, drives Snowball from the farm, and takes away animal suffrage. Slowly, step by step, the pigs take power away from the animals, force them to do with less, and assume more wealth for themselves. The pigs even go so far as to begin living in the farmhouse. Napoleon capitalizes on the lack of education among the animals to take away more of the rights and freedoms.

By the end of the book, the pigs are walking on their hind legs, carrying whips, dressing in human clothing, fraternizing with humans, drinking alcohol, and carrying on in a similar manner as the farmers they drove out. But, Squealer assures the other animals, it is for their own good, and for the good of Animal Farm.

At the end of the book, the animals can no longer tell the difference between the pigs and the men they are fraternizing with.